Intra-Cellular Therapies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITCI) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Intra-Cellular Therapies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITCI) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,880,000 shares, a growth of 8.0% from the November 30th total of 1,740,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 549,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.4 days.

Intra-Cellular Therapies Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ITCI opened at $83.52 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $84.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $78.30. The stock has a market cap of $8.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -96.00 and a beta of 0.95. Intra-Cellular Therapies has a 12 month low of $62.78 and a 12 month high of $93.45.

Intra-Cellular Therapies (NASDAQ:ITCI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.25) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.18) by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $175.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $172.30 million. Intra-Cellular Therapies had a negative net margin of 14.07% and a negative return on equity of 9.93%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 39.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.25) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Intra-Cellular Therapies will post -0.64 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on ITCI shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $130.00 target price on shares of Intra-Cellular Therapies in a report on Monday, September 16th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Intra-Cellular Therapies from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Piper Sandler upgraded Intra-Cellular Therapies from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $68.00 to $92.00 in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 price target on shares of Intra-Cellular Therapies in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Intra-Cellular Therapies from $81.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $97.23.

Insider Buying and Selling at Intra-Cellular Therapies

In other news, CEO Sharon Mates sold 51,000 shares of Intra-Cellular Therapies stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.80, for a total value of $4,375,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,070,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $91,834,228.20. The trade was a 4.55 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, President Michael Halstead sold 22,869 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.12, for a total transaction of $2,038,085.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Intra-Cellular Therapies

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Intra-Cellular Therapies by 282.0% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 34,453 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,521,000 after buying an additional 25,435 shares in the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Intra-Cellular Therapies by 31.9% during the third quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 454,538 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $33,258,000 after purchasing an additional 109,892 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Intra-Cellular Therapies by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 597,713 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $43,735,000 after purchasing an additional 18,865 shares during the period. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Intra-Cellular Therapies by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 438,083 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $32,055,000 after purchasing an additional 26,600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cynosure Group LLC raised its holdings in Intra-Cellular Therapies by 161.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cynosure Group LLC now owns 14,442 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,057,000 after buying an additional 8,909 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.33% of the company’s stock.

About Intra-Cellular Therapies

Intra-Cellular Therapies, Inc, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the discovery, clinical development, and commercialization of small molecule drugs that address medical needs primarily in neuropsychiatric and neurological disorders by targeting intracellular signaling mechanisms in the central nervous system (CNS) in the United States.